Monday, January 17, 2011

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. ~St Francis de Sales

I love this quote. The whole world seems to be in such a hurry, rushing form one place, one thing, one person, to another. I long for a calm spirit.

On the way home from Virginia we stopped at the New River Gorge at Fayetteville, WV. What a breathtaking spot! I want to go back some day in the summer or fall, since a lot of the trails were closed due to the weather.

The New River Bridge

Snow at the Gorge

We’ve had a lot of snow and cold weather here in Pennsylvania. These birds are all puffed up, keeping warm together.

I got a new camera, a Polaroid. I wanted a small digital camera to carry in my purse so I could take photos anytime and not have to carry my big camera with me to Walmart and Sam’s Club. Phil says when he goes out with me he feels like he is shopping with a Japanese tourist. Now I can carry a camera with me and not be so conspicuous.

I haven’t taken very many photos with it yet; just the furbabies so far .

I made some Crème Brulee. Ever since we went to Seven Springs and I had it there I’ve been wanting to try to make it myself.

It’s not that difficult to make. I did have to buy a torch because I don’t have a broiler in my oven to caramelize them, but that’s ok. Having a torch in the kitchen is cool.

Creme Brulee

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

2 hr 15 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 0 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1 cup vanilla sugar, divided

6 large egg yolks

2 quarts hot water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into six (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to three days.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Kate Shugak is an Aleut who lives on a 160-acre homestead in a generic national Park in Alaska. Her roommate is a half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Her nearest neighbors are a bull moose and a grizzly sow. Further off are dog mushers, miners, hunters, trappers, fishermen, bush pilots, pipeline workers, Park rats, Park rangers, other Aleuts, Athabascans, a few Tlingits and the residents of Niniltna, a village perched on the edge of the Kanuyaq River, a 600-mile long, salmon-rich tributary that winds through the Park to Prince William Sound. She use to work for the DA’s office until she burned out. Now she helps to solve local murders.

I have loved this series. Dana Stabenow makes everything in Alaska come alive, the scenery, the wildlife, the Alaskan lifestyle of fishing, hunting, deep sea crabbing, oil pipelines. I’ve read nine books in the series so far, and I’ve been enthralled by each and every one.

So that was this week. January 18th is my youngest son, David’s, birthday. Happy Birthday,David. We love you and miss you!

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About Me

I'm married with two grown sons and a grown stepdaughter. My husband works in the Natural Gas field so we live most of the time in our fifth wheel rv and travel all over the country with our cats. Our home base is in Mission, Texas, when we can get there, Mission is located in the Rio Grande Valley on the Mexico border, Cooking is my passion, along with photography and bird watching. I am an avid reader and I love movies